Miss me when I'm gone
by ALCzysz17
Summary: Little snippets of Daryl and Beth. Rating and genre varies. I will take requests and prompts from anyone by reviewing. Word length - '500-3,000'.
1. Riding in cars with boys

**Disclaimer: I don't own 'The Walking Dead'.**

**A/N: **If you have a **request**, please go to my **tumblr****page** to ask it which can be accessed through my profile page on here! Leave a **name**** or ****screenname** with your request/prompt with the **'Ask me anything' button. **Rating will vary depending on how I feel or if you request a certain rating (i.e- smut).

**Miss me when I'm gone**

**Snippet #1**

**Riding in cars with boys**

**(Good movie, by the way)**

Beth felt nervous as she sat in the car, waiting. She bounced her knee while picking at a small hole in her jeans. She really wanted to fidget with the radio, but knew it wouldn't work though she really wished it would, anything to make her less nervous and antsy would help at this point.

This was her fourth time learning how to drive, and it unfortunately wasn't fourth time's the charm either. First, her father, Hershel had taken it upon himself to teach his youngest daughter how to drive, to give her something normal to learn. It was going fine too, 'til they got on the road. Beth wasn't sure what compelled her to suddenly have a lead food and disregard anything around her, including the fear and screams of terror coming from her own father. After that day he delegated the horrifying privilege to Maggie.

They didn't even leave the gate before Maggie had up and walked out on Beth. All they did was bicker and fight for thirty minutes 'til her older sister had had enough and left. Glenn was her third time's the charm.

In reality, he wasn't.

Glenn only encouraged her to go faster and faster resulting in the carburetor blowing up in smoke and ending with both of them walking back home with one less car. Needless to say Glenn was not allowed to be her teacher once the fourth time came around.

Rick actually called on a meeting to figure out who could possibly teach her without fearing, fighting, and/or encouraging her speed rage. After much debate they chosen who they thought was the perfect person.

Now Beth was more nervous than at ease as she waited for him.

Daryl Dixon.

Surprisingly enough he offered to do it, especially when no one raised their own hands and offer. Beth was extremely surprised, only because Daryl had never taken a particular interest in her beyond being there for Carl and Judith. They barely said 'hi' in passing, so to say she was nervous and a bit apprehensive being alone with him was an understatement.

To be honest, he sort of scared her. It could be his intense stare, or scowling glares. Really Beth figured it was his mean demeanor and personality.

The door on her right opened abruptly, pulling her from her thoughts. The blonde breathed slowly through her mouth as her stomach flip-flopped as Daryl sat down in the passenger seat, shutting the door after him.

They sat in silence for a minute then Daryl sighed deeply, like this was a big waste of his time. "Start the car." He suddenly said, startling Beth, causing her to jump in her seat. He raised an eyebrow but said nothing more.

Slowly like she thought he was a snake and would attack at the slightest movement she reached for the key in the ignition, giving it a twist and the vehicle roared to life. Beth pulled her hand away to place it in her lap once more. They, again, sat there in silence.

"Beth."

"Yes?"

"This is a drivin' lesson right?"

"Umm, yes."

"A'right…" Beth started bouncing her knee again. "Jesus Beth! Pull the gear inta drive and go!" Daryl finally snapped, losing the last of his patience it seems.

Beth reached down to grab the gear stick and took it out of park and into drive quickly. She turned the wheel around towards the gate and waited for Tyreese and Glenn to open the gate for them. Her hands gripped the wheel tightly as they waited, then without being told she pulled through the gate onto the rocky road, away from the prison.

Just as they got pass the trees did Daryl tell her to stop. "Put the car in park." He instructed, waiting for her to follow orders. She was confused but did as told, her nervous meter rising.

"A'right, so whatcha havin' issues wit'?"

Beth turned to Daryl before shrugging her shoulders. "I dunno…" she said, feeling a bit embarrassed that she wasn't sure what her 'issues' were exactly.

"Whatcha mean ya dunno?" she shrugged again, bowing her head away from Daryl in utter embarrassment. Sighing, he rubbed his forehead then waved his hand at her. "Jus' start drivin', I'll figure it out."

Beth nibbled on her bottom lip as she went into drive and started again. At first it was steady and slow but then the car started picking up in speed, going from twenty miles per hour to fifty and climbing. Beth's knuckles were turning white from gripping the wheel so tightly and her heart started to pound rapidly against her ribcage, she wasn't sure why she was having this sort of reaction, it seemed to always happen when she was behind the wheel though.

"Slow down, Beth." Daryl glanced between her and the empty road.

"You should put your seatbelt on, Daryl." Beth replied back, tersely, her arms tensing up as the speedometer read sixty-five miles per hour.

"Beth! Stop!" Daryl yelled out, reaching up to grasp the 'oh shit' bar. His words barely registered in her mind, it was in one ear and out the other as though he hadn't said anything at all.

Her vision strangely zeroed in on the road as her heart rate rose.

"Beth!" Daryl called out again. "BETH!"

Further up a walker ambled into the road, seeing it brought Beth back into reality and she slammed on the brakes hard. Daryl flung forward without the safety of the seatbelt he neglected to put on, slamming his arm and forehead against the dashboard while she braced herself against the steering wheel with her seatbelt pinning her to her seat. The screeching of the tires and burning smell coming off the asphalt really woke her out of her daze. The car finished stopping and lurched back.

They sat in silence for a moment.

"Holey shit! Are ya tryin' ta kill us!" Daryl exploded, pulling back from the dashboard to reveal a big, fat red mark on his forehead that was quickly swelling up and would most likely become a bruise.

"I'm s-s-sorry, Daryl." Beth stuttered, slowly prying her hands from the wheel.

"Ya sure ya are? I done told ya ta stop but ya didn't listen! What the hell is yer damn problem!?" Daryl's whole face was read now. He suddenly ripped his door open, kicking it back when the hinges forced the door to swing back to him. Quickly he got out barely taking much notice of the walker before his knife lodged into its temple, thus killing it.

He barely spared a glance back at her before walking further out.

Beth felt tears burn in the back of her eyes as she sat there, letting the car sit idly. Eventually she reached up to turn the engine off.

"_What the hell is yer damn problem!?"_

'I don't know…' Beth thought, huffing air out of her mouth as she felt even more deflated than before. She didn't know why she didn't hear anyone else when driving, or why she would speed so suddenly. If she did know she would change it, but she didn't.

Blood would start rushing through her ears, blocking out any noises from distracting her as she drove. It was like she would have mini panic attacks while driving, like if she took her eyes off the road for even a second she would go out of control. Though in hind sight she wasn't really in control if she was speeding out of control like she had been. Beth wiped away a tear, refusing to cry over this even though it was extremely frustrating.

The door slamming shut beside her brought Beth back to the here and now. Daryl was once more sitting in the passenger seat, staring straight ahead silently.

"I'm sorry." Beth apologized again, hoping he wasn't going to give up on her like everyone else has been.

"I thank I might know why ya drive like a psychopath." Daryl mumbled, turning to eye her over briefly.

"Ya think so?" Beth asked, trying not to sound so hopeful like she felt.

"First, take a big breath." She frowned at his request, but quickly did as he said not wanting to anger him anymore than she already has. Beth took a deep breath then slowly released it; already she was feeling just a tad more relaxed than before. "Now, ya need ta relax. What goes thru yer mind when ya drive?"

She looked over to Daryl seeing him watching her attentively, waiting for her to talk. Seeing him like this towards her gave her pause, never before had Daryl really given her his full attention. It was startling, but also nice; in a strange way it was exciting to have the redneck's attention on her like this. It made her feel important, much more than a glorified babysitter, that's for sure.

"Well…I get the sense that I'm goin' out of control. So I guess I ignore eveythin' else around me to concentrate on that." Daryl nodded, turning his intense gaze out towards the road. Though it was nice to have his full attention she hadn't anticipated how stressful it was. She didn't want to make a fool out of herself, but she had the feeling that she had already been there and done that.

"A'right. I wantcha ta start the car up again. This time listen ta me when I talk, got me?" Beth reached up to twist the key when his hand came out of nowhere latching onto her wrist to keep her from turning the key. Whipping her head back to him, she wilted just a little underneath his scowling glare. "Got me?" Daryl repeated.

"Gotcha." Beth practically whispered, trying not to tense up from his tight grip. He let go once she confirmed her understanding, this time he buckled his seatbelt in she noticed as she started up the car once more.

"Put yer hands on the wheel and accelerate slowly, no anythang above thirty-five." Beth nodded, her heart pounding like before inside her chest.

The car eased slowly into the speed of thirty-five, she kept glancing between the speedometer and the road to make sure she wasn't going above his speed limit.

"Talk ta me, Beth. Whatcha thankin'?" Daryl asked, he was also keeping a keen eye on her speed as she was.

"Nothing really…my hearts beating pretty hard though."

"Loosen up yer arms, no one's gunna attack ya, girl." Beth breathed deeply again, letting the tension in her arms go away. "Good, now relax some. Lean back in yer seat, don't be so straight backed." She followed his instructions, letting her body loosen up and really relax. "How ya feelin'?"

"Better…not as scared or like I'm gonna go outta control."

"Good, now speed up some…"…

The rest of the drive ended very pleasantly, though it was mostly silent on both of their parts they didn't argue any, or shout so that was a plus. Beth felt more confident about her driving, that and she didn't feel like she was going to get out of control anymore. She even drove up to sixty miles per hour without becoming erratic like before, and it was all thanks to Daryl. Maybe all she needed was someone who could keep a cool head while she drove, though honestly Daryl wasn't who she expected to get that from.

Slowly they pulled into the prison, parking right next to one of the other vehicles.

"Thanks, Daryl." Beth turned to him with a big ole smile. He nodded slowly, opening his door to get out.

Before he left her there, she heard him say, "No problem."

* * *

**A/N: S**o the ending kind of…sucked. I know, hahaha. But anyways this is just a little intro into what I am doing for this. Mostly this is just to get my mind cleared when I am writing my other stories, which I promise will be updated soon! I swear! Anywho drop me a line!

_**ALCzysz17**_


	2. Sharing is Caring

**Disclaimer: I don't own 'The Walking Dead'.**

**Miss me when I'm gone**

**Snippet #2**

**Sharing is Caring**

**(Right?)**

The day was hot, hotter than yesterday and even hotter than last week. That suggested in of itself that summer was coming right around the corner, if not already here. Daryl wiped at the sweat dripping down his forehead, snaring when he could see the amount of liquid that had drenched his forehead now drenched his arm. Michonne made a noise of disgust, especially when he flung his arm outward towards her to sling the sweat away. He smirked at her reaction; badass or not she couldn't change that she was-indeed-a girl on the inside. Then again, he wasn't above the fact that it was pretty gross of him to do that.

Daryl withheld a groan of aggravation as more sweat seeped through his sleeveless, button up shirt. He already smelled to high heaven, a shower would be in order once they were done. Taking out the huge amount of walkers beyond the fence was tough work, sweaty work too. Rick was further down the line with Glenn and Maggie huffing and puffing as they took out walker after walker. They probably felt and smelled much like he and Michonne do at the moment.

Pretty damn disgusting.

Looking beyond them and letting Michonne take the lead in killing the most walkers-a silly, non-verbally confirmed game they were playing against each other-to see Carl keeping watch in the tower, the boy was getting better at the sniper rifle as the day wore on. Down on ground level though, he could make out Beth and Carol doing laundry while Judith sat in the make-shift bassinet with a picnic umbrella over her head to keep the sun's rays at bay. At this point in the day it was probably best they kept the baby outside over inside. They were all coming to learn that the prison that was keeping them safe during the night was also trying to cook them alive during the day.

At least outside there was an occasional cross-breeze floating around, though it didn't do much more than push hot air into your face. Daryl wiped away some more sweat before jabbing his hunter's knife into the skull of a closing in walker, it crumbled to the ground with barely a protest. Michonne was further ahead slicing through walker after walker, peering over her shoulder cockily to see where he was and how many walkers lay in waste from him. She was quite the competitive one, she was.

Daryl quickly stalked after her to move ahead and try to catch up to her, probably wasn't going to happen this day but he had to try. After a few more minutes of stabbing and jabbing while trying-without succeeding-to avoid walker guts and blood on any of them they began to drag the very dead walkers towards the burn pit. Daryl didn't much care either way so between the five of them; he had accumulated quite the grime and blood all over his clothes and boots. Maggie commented on it and he only shrugged in return.

"Ain't a fuckin' beauty pageant." He grumbled back while helping Rick pick up a rather large walker, he clearly enjoyed way too much fast food before he died.

"I'd vote for you, Daryl!" Glenn piped up, holding back a chuckle.

"I think pink would suit him nicely." Michonne added, a slow smirk making its way on her lips. Daryl scuffed at the bunch of them as more and more non-hilarious comments came.

"Ya know when I was gittin' married ta Lori, Shane mentioned we should do an opposite wedding where the man wore the dress and the woman wore the suit." Rick commented as he kicked a very skinny, skeleton of a walker into the pit.

"I bet it didn't go over too well with Lori." Maggie said brightly.

"Nah, actually she thought it was a funny idea. Though she figured doing it for the rehearsal dinner would be best." Daryl shook his head, bunch a pansies; his brother would have called them.

"Did you guys do it?" Glenn asked, gritting his teeth as he and Maggie dragged another large and in charge walker to the pit.

"No. Lori's parents wouldn't have it." Rick shrugged before adding, "Wish we had though, the look on their faces would have been worth it."

Everyone laughed aside from Daryl who rolled his eyes. A small smile was hidden on his lips though as he rolled a walker down the pit. It was nice seeing Rick talking about Lori and Shane without getting upset or withdrawn. He worried a lot about the sheriff lately, but it seems things were starting to turn around for him.

"Hey all you hard working walker killers want something refreshing to drink?" Carol called out from the gate as she waved a hand entrancingly towards the bottles of water in her other arm, Beth was walking towards her with some more bottles from the lone watch tower, Carl could be seen drinking a bottle there.

Carol handed off the three she had while Beth gave Michonne and Daryl the two of three she was carrying. The water wasn't cold to touch, more lukewarm than hot though so it was better than nothing. Daryl went to unscrew his bottle and bring it to his mouth when a hand grabbed his ankle causing him to drop his bottle to the ground as he turned to see a walker aiming to take a bit out of his leg. A katana slicing through its temple stopped the walker's progress dead in its tracks.

"Thanks." Daryl said. Michonne nodded as she pulled her katana out of the walkers head before using her weapon to point to the forgotten water bottle on the ground.

"There goes your water."

"Great…" Daryl grumbled as he picked up the empty bottle to see it was now dirty with walker blood on it. Shrugging with a sigh, he tossed it down into the pit.

"Here, Daryl. I may have already drank some of it, but you can have the rest." Beth offered rather shyly as her hand stretched through the chain-link fence to hand him her water. He looked it over briefly before taking the bottle from her hand with a nod of thanks.

Beth smiled brightly, a softly mumbled 'welcome' reached his ears as he downed the rest of the water from her bottle. Hearing a catcall, he handed back the empty bottle as he searched out who was making the noise.

"Oh look at that! So priceless! Beth and Daryl shared an indirect kiss!" Glenn laughed as Maggie joined in. Carol giggled as Daryl felt his face burn up from the implication of their words.

He looked towards the blonde to see her equally red and shying away from his eyes as she somewhat glared at her sister and brother-in-law.

"If ya wanna play that game then Glenn and I have kissed many times indirectly." Rick commented jokingly causing Glenn to make a gagging noise as everyone laughed. Daryl connected eyes with Rick to see him smiling with a nod, clearly helping to take the spot light off the redneck.

"You're the best indirect kiss I've ever had with a man, Rick." Maggie pushed Glenn towards Rick jokingly.

"You two deserve each other." More laughter ensured as everyone make jokes while Glenn tried to mock kiss Rick. He didn't seem to enjoy a real kiss as much as the indirect one.

"Sorry 'bout that, Daryl…" Beth mumbled quietly, her eyes directed towards the ground as she avoided his gaze. He shook his head.

"Don't be sorry…never had a indirect kiss before…" Daryl waited a moment to let the words sink in then started back to work putting walkers into the pit as everyone settled down and started doing their job.

Beth watched for a moment longer before turning away to join Judith and to finish up the laundry. As she sat down her thoughts moved back to what Glenn had jokingly said and blushed again. She never thought of it that way, hadn't thought much of anything when she offered her half way drank water to him. She was glad though that Daryl didn't take offense to it and just shrugged it off. Still if she had to have an indirect kiss with someone than at least it someone good looking like Daryl.

It made Beth wonder if he thought similar.

A laugh erupted from her mouth as she shook her head. "Yeah, right. Good one, Beth…"

"Good what?" Carol questioned as she stared at the blonde.

"Nothing, nothing at all."…

* * *

**A/N: Y**uck, I just can't seem to end these things right. I feel like this one started out strong but then got a little distorted at the end. Oh well, I enjoyed writing it and I thought the humor was good. Hope y'all like it and let me know whatcha think! Also Happy Birthday to me!

_**ALCzysz17**_


	3. Fear is only in your mind

**Disclaimer: I don't own 'The Walking Dead'.**

***A/N at end of chapter***

**Miss me when I'm gone**

**Snippet #3**

**Fear is only in your mind…**

She couldn't breathe. It was like all oxygen was gone even though she was pretty sure her lungs were working properly. The air was just…gone. Her legs couldn't move anymore either. They were catching up, she was a goner!

Oxygen still refused to inflate her lungs; if she didn't get killed by the walkers then she was surely to die by suffocation. Her legs gave out underneath her, collapsing simultaneously. They were coming though! Her legs wouldn't budge as the walkers came upon her, and there was no air left in her lungs to allow one last scream.

She was a goner…

Beth shot awake from her bed, narrowly missing smacking her forehead on the bunk above her. She gasped for air harshly, sucking in every little bit that she could. Had the blonde not known any better she'd a thought she had been really suffocating.

As her heart slowed down to a more balanced pace and her eyes adjusted to the darkness, Beth pushed her blankets away and moved to stand in her cell. The air was sticky and hot, letting her know it was a hot one tonight, meaning the prison was hotter than outside as well.

Right now Beth needed fresh air and a much cooler place than her cell, especially after a terrifying nightmare like that one. Glancing down at herself, she assessed her clothes and made the decision that she was dressed decently enough. She wore a single white tank top and pajama capris as her bottoms.

Decent enough…

The trek through the dark prison did nothing to ease her fears and paranoia. Every dark corner hid some monster from her wild imagination and every turn made her heart slam fearfully inside her chest. Beth didn't feel any relief 'til she was outside in the open air, where it was much cooler like she thought. The moon was a quarter full and glowing down upon her as she stared up at the darken sky. Clouds were closing in on the moon quickly with the intention to block it out from view and darken the night even more.

The wind had picked up more tonight than earlier that day. A storm was coming.

As Beth walked around, her mind brought up the horrific dream she had. It wasn't abnormal for her to have nightmares, even ones about the walkers. Her eyes roamed over to the fences to see them lingering about, waiting for some helpless prey to come by so they could devour it. The blonde felt her stomach cramp uncomfortably at the thought so she turned her eyes away as she walked about the closed in area. Still this nightmare…was much worse than any of the others she had.

Never had she felt like the world was closing in on her, that she couldn't breathe. It was like the fear had consumed her and strangled her in the nightmare. For a second there Beth wasn't sure what was real and what was fake. Even now, as clearly awake as Beth was, she was still having a hard time telling herself that her dream wasn't real.

She looked towards the fence again.

'Those are real, Beth. Your dream was nothin' but a nightmare. A product of your fears…'

Fears or not, she knew she wasn't going back to sleep anytime soon, possibly even not for the rest of the night. Beth could count more times beyond the number of fingers and toes she had of how many times she had decided to fall asleep after a nightmare and end up replaying it in her head, or worse, she continued it…

The wind started to blast rapidly around her, tugging at her hair and clothes. Beth glanced back at the prison to see how far she was just as a big ole rain drop hit her right in the forehead. She wiped it away only for more to suddenly follow. Turning to her left she saw the watch tower was much closer and made a run for inside.

By the time Beth got in she was already slightly wet, but not drenched like she would have been had she tried for the prison. Thunder echoed around her as Beth took in that she was probably gonna be stuck in the tower for a while. She wiped away the excess droplets of water from her arms as she tried to remember who was on duty that night. She climbed the stairs to the top while her mind was lost in thought. It wasn't Glenn; she had heard him talking to Maggie before she fell asleep. Michonne was gone on her search for the Governor, so not her. Maybe Tyreese? Rick had Judith for the night so that pretty much left one person…

"Daryl," Beth said in greeting as she entered the tower.

Daryl gave her a confused look, his face scrunching up as he eyed her over. "Whatcha doin' out 'ere, girl?" He replied back. Beth shrugged her shoulders, stepping more into the room while closing the door.

"I couldn't sleep so I was walking 'round outside for some fresh air, then it started pourin'." Daryl nodded though he didn't seem satisfied with her answer.

"Why were ya out thair alone? Ya shouldn't go by yerself." His voice was harsh, but Beth didn't flinch. She had grown use to his harsh tone, and brash language.

Though he could be kinder and just say he didn't like her out alone at night.

Beth merely shrugged at him as she walked over to the windows to see the storm raging on outside. Lightning flashed followed by a loud bellowing of thunder. She jumped back from the window as the booming lasted for almost thirty seconds. It filled up all noise and left a deafening silence once it was done.

"Are you afraid of anything, Daryl?" Beth squeaked out her inquiry before turning to gage his reaction. He arched a brow at her then shook his head 'no'.

"Figures…" she mumbled under her breath. "Do ya have nightmares then?"

Beth glanced at the windows to see pelts of rain decorating the glass before turning back to see Daryl frowning at her question.

"Yeah, who doesn't?" He grumbled back, turning his sight on to his crossbow. He had a rag in one hand and was slowly cleaning the joints of the deadly weapon.

Beth watched him for a moment then shrugged. "Well ya seem so…composed when ya face off walkers and stuff. Plus you said you weren't afraid of nothin'."

"Jus' cause I ain't afraid of nuthin' don't mean I don't have nightmares. I jus' don't fear 'em." Daryl commented, off handedly.

She watched as he focused on his cleaning, somehow getting his thicker fingers between the small components with the rag. She felt a bit skeptical of his answer though. Some dreams can get so realistic that at times it was hard to tell the difference between being awake and asleep. The realms of dreams were so complicated and nightmares were worse, leaving you gasping from fear and trying to keep yourself from getting lost within them. Beth found she had a hard time trying to keep herself from drowning within her nightmares, what made Daryl so different?

"Ya don't wake up scared? Sweatin' and heart racin'?" The blonde questioned further, walking over to take a seat in a chair opposite him.

She could make out the creases in the sides of his mouth indicating a frown. Daryl finally looked up with a sigh. "Thair only dreams, yer imagination gone wild. Nuthin' ta be afraid of."

Beth also sighed then jumped as a loud burst of thunder erupted outside. She got what Daryl was telling her, something she had always told herself time and again when she woke up from a rather vicious and scary nightmare.

"Yeah, I suppose, but nightmares are based off your subconscious fears. Nightmares relay what you fear during the day." Her words echoed true, at least to her. She had never dreamed about the undead 'til they started walking and eating people.

"Hmm…" Daryl hummed lightly, letting his thoughts settle as he took in her words. "Ain't thair a sayin' some president said years ago?"

It only took Beth a second to realize what President and statement he was talking about.

"Oh, you mean President Franklin Roosevelt, it was something along the lines of, 'You have nothing to fear, but fear itself'." Daryl immediately nodded, quickly waving a free hand at her.

"Well thair ya go!" Beth laughed softly, but shook her head at him.

"It makes sense, but at the same time it's an oxymoron." Beth knew she was gonna get quite the comical look from Daryl.

Daryl is a smart man, but she also knew it had been years since he was in school and possibly didn't care for any of his classes, least of all English.

"What?" Daryl asked, taking his eyes off his work to stare at her with a confused and slightly miffed expression on his face. Beth had to pinch her lips into a flat line to keep a big smile from engulfing her face. She was pretty certain that Daryl would not find enjoyment in her teasing of his lack of education.

"An oxymoron. It's when words in a sentence or statement contradict the meaning. 'you have nothing to fear, but fear itself', is contradicting cause fearing fear itself, while it makes sense on the surface and face value, underneath and logically it's wrong." Daryl just stared at Beth, indicating that he didn't exactly understand what she was meaning.

"Look, sayin', 'you have nothing to fear' means you don't have anything to be afraid of, but then adding 'fear itself' contradicts the first half of the statement cause its being re-instated that ya do have something to fear. It's a pretty statement on the surface, but logically it doesn't make absolute sense." Beth smiled brightly towards Daryl, who was giving her a hard stare, kind of like she was crazy. Blushing madly at how far in-depth she went she began to apologize.

"Sorry, that was a part of a discussion in my English class that sorta stuck with me." The redneck seemed to watch her carefully before shrugging with a grunt of acceptance. Beth relaxed as his eyes drifted away from her to stare out the window.

"So, in that case, you've had to have been afraid of somethin'. At least when ya were younger." Her statement hung in the air between them; silence dominated the room aside from the sound of rain hitting the roof. She waited for him to respond but he just sat there staring into space.

Just as the blonde was about to speak, his voice filled the room with a single, short sentence.

"The boogieman."

Beth felt perplexed by his declaration. The boogieman? It wasn't a strange thing to be afraid of, she had been afraid of something similar to the boogieman when she was little too. Yet it seemed so…out of character for him to fear some fake monster when he lived half his life in the woods.

"Really? The one that hides under your bed, or in your closet?" She couldn't help but clarify that they were both talking about the same thing.

"Somethang like that…"

Looking into his eyes she could tell Daryl wasn't really in the here and now. He was off in his mind, locked inside a memory long since passed. Staring at him, Beth got the impression that the boogieman was more than a monster hiding in the dark, for Daryl he wasn't referring to that boogieman; he was referring to a real one. Of whom it was in his life that compared to the boogieman Beth hadn't a clue, but it made more sense to her than it being a figment of his imagination. She didn't like him looking so lost and desolate though so quickly she thought of something about herself, anything to push back the memory that he was seeing.

"Ironically, I use to be afraid of the barn," Beth said suddenly, in hopes of bringing Daryl out of his stupor.

"Cause of the walkers?" He finally said, his eyes clearing up and pushing back the memory. Beth shook her head, a smile lifting her face.

"No, cause Maggie had me watch a scary movie that had to do with a creepy, old barn when I was younger. I refused to go in there for months before my Mama walked through the barn with me." Beth abruptly laughed at the memory, covering her mouth with her hand. "Shawn use to tease me endlessly 'bout it too. Callin' me 'barn girl' and pretendin' to be getting' killed in there." Her laughter subsided as a somber expression came over her.

It wasn't lost on the blonde that her last words echoed of how Shawn had actually died. Suddenly that memory wasn't so funny and worth being memorable. Daryl must have took notice of her change in attitude because he kept the conversation going by adding, "I use ta be afraid of the dark 'til I got lost in the woods." He set aside his crossbow as he stretched out his back, causing a series of pops.

"Always felt safe out in the woods so I got over my fear." Beth smiled as she, too, pushed away any painful memories.

The rain was getting lighter and lighter; soon she would be able to head back in, though if she were being honest with herself she'd rather continue to talk with Daryl. This had to be the longest they've talked to each other since they've met. The thought sadden her some, Daryl was a very unique individual and she wished she had the courage to talk with me much sooner than she had. Though thinking about it, it probably wouldn't have done much to try befriending him back when he and everyone first arrived on the farm. He wasn't exactly the most sociable type back then, even now it wasn't always easy to get him included on conversations, but when he did…it just left her feeling better.

Like Daryl felt accepted and apart of the group, more and more. Beth wanted that for him.

"Yeah, I'm surprised ya don't sleep in a tree like a squirrel. Oh, or hang upside down like a possum!" Laughter wheezed out of her as Daryl looked so unamused by her comment. His arms crossed over his chest as he rolled his eyes, causing Beth to lean over her legs and laugh harder. For some reason she couldn't get the picture of Daryl hanging upside down from a tree branch of her head. She could even make out him holding his crossbow in one hand and keeping his shirt pulled up in his other.

Beth quickly waved at him once her laughter subsided. "Well, I have an over-active imagination-."

"Ya don't say."

"-with the dark," Beth pouted her lips as Daryl tipped his chin at her to go on. "I always expect somethin' to come out, or I scare myself into seein' somethin'. It doesn't last long though…"

"Cause yer an adult and shouldn't be afraid of the dark," Daryl said sarcastically, cracking a smirk her way as his crossed arms relaxed.

"No!" Beth pinched her lips again, this time to keep from pouting even more. "It's because I feel safe here."

Daryl lost his smirk and shook his head. "It ain't ever safe."

She shrugged. "Well maybe not entirely, but I do feel safe, at least with you on guard…" Beth stopped as she realized exactly what she had just said. Her face bloomed into a blush as her eyes widen. Had she really just told him that? "A-And every-o-one else t-too!" Daryl looked away from her.

He looked mildly uncomfortable as he kept his sights on everything but her. His foot started tapping insistently on the ground, making the silence between them that much more awkward.

"Never…" he coughed to clear his throat, "Never let yer guard down, Beth. No matter what."

Beth could only nod at the moment. She felt flustered and embarrassed that she admitted to Daryl that he made her feel safe. It wasn't what she said that embarrassed her so, but how intimate and vulnerable she sounded when she announced it to him. Lately she had noticed the archer more and more, her eyes automatically searching him out when she could. It was nothing but a little crush, she was sure it would go away with time.

Yet with moments like this, talking with Daryl like they were good friends and confiding in each other…it left the blonde thinking that her mere crush was gonna slowly increase. Not necessarily a bad thing, at least in her eyes as long as it was innocent, but she would never tell him, or anyone else for that matter. She could only imagine what her sister would say, possibly laugh at her for crushing on someone such as Daryl. He was completely the opposite of what Beth had usually been attracted to. Still, she couldn't deny that she liked him far more than just a friend.

Glancing at the window, Beth took her chance for escape from the awkwardness she had produced with her thoughtlessness. The storm had mostly passed and it was nothing but a drizzle outside, she wouldn't get drenched before reaching the prison and her cell.

"Guess I'll be headin' back in now that the rain is gone." Beth hiked her thumb over her shoulder to point out the lack of rain against the window. "Thanks for listening and lettin' me talk, Daryl."

She smiled softly at him before getting up and walking towards the door. Daryl cleared his throat once more, gaining her attention enough to turn back to him. He had that far off look in his eyes again, but it didn't look like he was reliving something terrible or bad.

"'member, Beth, fears only in yer mind. Ya gotta take control of it, don't let it control you…" His eyes slowly met hers and her heart almost stopped at the look. It was so tender, so…innocent. Her breath caught in her throat and had she breathed she would have choked.

Beth nodded her head instead, letting his words sink into her mind as she left him behind in the tower. The walk back to the prison was cooler and misty, but refreshing nonetheless. By the time Beth got to her bed she felt drowsy and relaxed. Daryl was right, dreams weren't anything to fear especially if she wanted to fall asleep for the rest of the night.

If she so happened to have another nightmare…well then she was gonna find a way to control it, and if worse things come…then maybe she'll just bring in her own version of Daryl to help fight off the terrors within her mind.

Yeah, that sounded a lot better than being alone…

**A/N: S**o this went on a lot longer than the last two, hope y'all enjoyed it! The thing about 'fear itself' was actually a discussion I had in my English/US history class; it was a mixed class that I loved so much! Anywho I got the idea for this snippet when I had a very scary dream a week or so ago, figured that would be a great moment to add to his story. Sort of increase the interaction between Daryl and Beth. Next snippet will be Daryl's POV!

**AUTHOR NOTE: T**his note isn't prewritten but being added after the fact. So two things I need to tell y'all, I'm very upset over. **One:** on November 7th at about four in the morning my Grandma passed away from a massive heartattack. That's why I've sort of disappeared for the most part, dealing with her death and trying to move on. It's been hard trying to write since she was such a huge support for my writing. Hopefully I'll get another chapter for **'Moments' **out before the coming year, but I am also moving out of my apartment this month so it'll be a bit hard...

**Two:** the death of Beth Greene (double fucking wammy). I believe that it was unjustified and senseless for cheap shock value that only angered everyone rather than sadden. If you would all go on **change .** **org** and look for **Bring Beth Back! **to sign a petition to send to AMC and showrunner Scott Gimple to let them know that we do not agree! There's already so many signs on it and we need tons and tons of more! We could possibly get her back on, who knows but I have hope, the same thing that Beth taught us! So please so your support!

Enjoy and review!

_**ALCzysz17**_


End file.
